Category: Purpose

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Understanding God’s Plan in a Troubling World

The randomness of life keeps many people on edge, indifferent, completely checked out of life, or deeply troubled. Life can be difficult, and those difficulties can send us looking for the answers to why. Problems cause us to deal with immediate needs and then the lasting aftermath of making sense of it all.

Some resign themselves to fatalism. This is a belief that whatever happens is predetermined. They think, so what’s the use to even try? This would be like someone getting a hurricane warning and taking no action either in preparation or evacuation.

Other folks are overcome by fear. This fear is coupled with hopelessness. They fall into the pit of despondency. This spoils any part of their lives that have moments of joy.

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How Much Does It Cost?

NOTE: This blog post was originally written and shared by me in 2018. I thought I would give it a quick edit and run it through the rinse cycle one more time!

How Much Does It Cost?

“How much does it cost?”, it is a question we ask when we shop.  But life is a series of questions of, “How much does it cost?”  It all comes down to value.  Everything has a value fixed at a different level by different people.  What do we really value?

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How to Live; How to Die

There are thousands of self-help books promising how to be successful or how to be effective. The Bible, by far, is the most powerful book and instructive book ever written. It tells us how to live. It also shows us how to die.

I have made the Word of God a part of my daily life for many decades. It is one of the most important things I have ever done. The Word of God was delivered into our hands by His servants who penned them thousands of years ago. It is an ancient book that speaks strongly to us today. There are none like it nor shall there ever be.

Learn with me from a few verses from the Apostle Paul to his spiritual son Timothy.

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Understanding God: Insights from a Lifelong Journey

I will soon cross over into my seventh decade of life. There are a few things I know now. I did not know them when my hair was brown and my energy was like the battery bunny. The main morsel of knowledge I now realize is how much I do not know. The body of knowledge seems to be as vast as the ocean and I am in a row boat.

I have read the entire Bible each year for close to thirty years. I understand many truths of the Bible but I still scratch my head about some things. It is the Word of God. How can a mere mortal like me understand the vastness and the depth of it? The short answer, I cannot. Yet, I keep studying and praying for more understanding of the Word of Life.

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Paul and Silas’ Response to Persecution

Join me in a little stroll through Acts chapter 16 as we journey with Paul and Silas.

We must minister to those God sends us and work with those God brings alongside us.
Paul on his second missionary journey was accompanied by Silas. Silas was not Paul’s first choice as a traveling partner. Barnabas was Paul’s first missionary partner on the first journey. While planning the second missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas had an argument about whether to take Mark who had abandoned them on the first trip. Paul did not want him to go, but Barnabas insisted. Unable to come to an agreement, they separated and went different ways.

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The Bible in a Capsule: God’s Plan of Redemption

The story began long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It begins even before the events of the book of Genesis. The Bible tells us that the Son of God is eternal, not only in the future but also in the past.

The Word of God proclaims, “He [Jesus] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Pet. 1:20 (NKJV). God the Father designated God the Son to be the one and only sacrifice for sin from before the beginning of time.

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Obscurity of Earth and the Known of Heaven

In the world of social media and in the nature of man, there is a desire by many to be recognized and perhaps even be famous.  Many want to become the next  TikTok or YouTube sensation.  Perhaps we should be more concerned about being known in Heaven.

We should not seek fame but seek to be more like Jesus. It is more important to be obedient to His purpose than to desire His help with our plans. If we are faithful to His purpose then we will be among those known in Heaven.

Most of us will live in obscurity on earth. The vast majority of us will be completely forgotten two generations after our death. Most graves are eventually unvisited. Remember, those old forgotten family photos that hang on Cracker Barrel Restaurant walls next to an old rusty relic were once real families.

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Eternal Destiny Cloaked in an Unplanned Pregnancy

The village girl who had no worldly aspirations was chosen to be the earthly mother of a Heavenly Son. Her dream was to marry a common craftsman and fill his quiver with arrows called children. She saw not much more in her future than drawing water at a village well and baking flat bread. The faithful tasks of a wife and mother for the care of her family was her hope. She dreamed of moments of joy and fulfillment scattered among the mundane. This was her only view over the horizon.

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Saltiness of Christianity

Jesus used salt as an analogy to show the importance of being a true disciple. Salt performs two basic functions; it enhances taste, and it preserves. As Christians we bring flavor and meaning to a hopeless world. We also preserve society and order to a fallen world. How do we lose our salt factor?

Salt does not in itself deteriorate. Salt without its saltiness is contaminated salt. Salt is derived from the sea or from salt deposits in the earth. The substance we buy today is consistent and mostly free from contamination.

In the time of the New Testament it was not so pure. The water from the sea was evaporated leaving a residue of salt but the residue was not pure. It was often contaminated with other minerals and substances of the sea. If it became too contaminated, it lost its flavor or saltiness.

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True Discipleship Means No Alternatives

I find choosing a paint color a little frustrating because there are just too many options. I ate in a foreign restaurant where I had a choice of meat but no option for the side dishes. When it came to the side dishes, you either ate them or left them.  Of course, I usually ate them!

When it comes to being a true disciple of Jesus Christ, why do some folks think they have options?

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